Billy Butler #16

Billy Ray Butler was originally signed by Kansas City scout Cliff Pastornicky…is married, Katie…the couple has three daughters, Kenley, Karsyn and Kamden…graduated from Wolfson (Jacksonville, Fla.) High…he and RHP Eric Hurley (30th overall to Rangers) became just the fifth high school teammates to both be first-rounders in the same draft…named Florida Times Union Player of the Year…member of Team Florida USA squad…participated in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Royals Caravan as well as the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 FanFest…named winner of the 47th annual Hutch Award in 2011, given each year to a major league baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson, both for on-field achievement and offthe-field work…he and his wife created the "Hit it a Ton" campaign in 2008, donating one ton of food for each home run and a half of ton for each double to the Bishop Sullivan Center and St. James Place in Kansas City…also helped create Billy's Barbecue Sauce, which started selling in 2013 with a portion of sales going to the "Hit it a Ton" campaign.

2015

Batted .251 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI in 151 games in his first season with the A's…the batting average was 20 points below his previous career low of .271 in 2014…his .323 on-base percentage matched his career low from 2014 and his .390 slugging percentage is second lowest to his .379 in 2014.…the RBI were his fewest since 2008 (55)…matched his career high in hit by pitches (7)…hit .269 (107-for-398) against right-handed pitching compared to .200 (28-for-140) against left-handers… the mark against lefties was fourth lowest in the American League…entered the season with a .314 career average against lefties compared to .288 against righties…grounded into 26 double plays, which tied for second in the AL and in Oakland history…batted .377 with three home runs and 12 RBI over his first 16 games and .317 with six home runs and 17 RBI over his final 35 contests…however, hit .207 with six home runs and 36 RBI in 100 games in between…played 136 games at designated hitter, which ranked sixth in Oakland history and were the most since Dave Parker had 140 in 1989…tied for third among AL designated hitters in games played but ranked seventh in RBI (61) and tied for eighth in home runs (14)…had the second lowest slugging percentage among the seven full-time DHs (.392)… has 674 games at DH over the last five years, which are the most in the majors (Ortiz, 611)…also made seven starts at first base and went 3-for-7 (.429) with a walk as a pinch hitter…now has a .333 (14-for- 42) career average to go with a .451 on-base percentage and .548 slugging percentage in the pinch… made a team-leading 74 starts batting clean-up and hit .241 with five home runs and 32 RBI in those games…also batted fifth (34 starts), sixth (24) and seventh (11)…hit .407 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 19 interleague games…the batting average ranked second in the majors (Kipnis, CLE .419) and second in Oakland history (Stairs, .413 in 1998)…slugged an Oakland record .704 and his .492 on-base percentage was second best (Giambi, .506 in 2000)…hit just .233 against AL competition…now has a .314 (133-for-424) career average against the National League with 18 home runs and 67 RBI in 136 games…batted .317 when leading off an inning.

2014

2013

Billy hit .289 with 15 homers and 82 RBI, which were all lows since 2010... He drew a career high 79 walks, which ranked fifth in the league and finished ninth in on-base percentage (.374)...his 11 intentional walks also were the sixth-most in the A.L... Ranked seventh in the A.L. with a .341 batting average with runners in scoring position...hit .318 at home, whichwas tied with teammate Salvador Perez for ninth in the league...his .313 average in night games also rankedninth...he and Prince Fielder were the only two A.L. players to appear in all 162 games... Grounded into 28 double plays, which were the most in the A.L. and third-most in the Major Leagues... After hitting .271 in the first half, batted .310 after the All-Star break, which included a .384 average (53-for-138)with a .462 OBP at "The K" in the second half... Matched a Royals record with seven RBI in Philadelphia on April 7, which included his first career grand slam...recorded a pair of five-hit games, going 5-for-5 with five RBI at the Los Angeles Angels on May 13...also had five singles in five at-bats vs. Seattle on September 5... Recorded his 500th career RBI on May 11 with a double against the Yankees, becoming the 10th Royal to record 500-plus RBI...also collected his 1,000th hit with an RBI double vs. St. Louis on May 28.

2012

Billy, an A.L. All-Star for the first time in his career, posted his best offensive season to date in leading the club in all three Triple Crown categories. Awarded 2012 Silver Slugger Award at designated hitter in the American League...is the seventh-different Royals player (10th instance overall) to win a Silver Slugger. Voted winner of the 2012 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award...became the second Royal to win the award, joining three-time winner Hal McRae (1976, 1980, 1982). Named Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year by the KC Chapter of the BBWAA...was his third award in the last four seasons (also 2009 and 2010)...is the fourth player to win award at least three times, joining George Brett (8 times),Amos Otis(3) and Mike Sweeney (3). Eighth season by a Royals player to record a .300+ average, 25+ home runs and 100+ RBI and first since Carlos Beltran in 2003 (.307, 26 HR, 100 RBI). Slugged 10 home runs in the eighth inning or later (4 in 8th, 6 in 9th), tied for the third-most in baseball behind leaders Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Adam Dunn of the White Sox, who each had 11 (STATS, LLC)...on the Royals all-time list, Butler's 10 homers in the eighth or later was the third-most in a season, trailing Gary Gaetti's 12 in 1995 and Steve Balboni's 11 in 1985...among Butler's 10 late-inning homers, three tied the game and three provided the Royals with the lead. Posted 107 RBI, tied for the 12th-most in a season in club history with George Brett (1979). Finished eighth in league, batting .313...batted .336 (102-for-304) following the All-Star break, the fourth-best mark in the league. His 29 home runs were the most by a Royal since Jermaine Dye connected for 33 in 2000 and tied for the 11th-best HR season in franchise history. Billy was sixth in the league with a career-high in RBI (107), tied for sixth in two-out RBI (38), eighth in multi-hit games(55), fifth with a career-high in hits(192) and tied for seventh in total bases(313)...his 1.036 OPS against southpaws was second in the league. His .938 OPS as the clean-up hitter was the third-highest in baseball among players with at least 400 plate appearances in that spot (B. Posey-.959 & P. Fielder-.940). Billy went 0-for-2 with a groundout in the seventh and a strikeout in the ninth as KC's All-Star Game representative on July 10 at Kauffman Stadium. Launched a pinch-hit 2-out solo homer on an 0-2 pitch off closer Jason Motte in the top of the ninth on June 17 at St. Louis...first career pinch hit home run...hit his second career walk-off homer on July 18 vs. Seattle. Named A.L. Player of the Week for July 23-29, batting .458 (11-for-24) in 7 games.

2011

Billy posted another strong campaign with the bat, driving in a career best 95 runs...Has more doubles (140) than anyone in baseball since 2009...the Yankees' Robinson Cano is second with 135...Recorded 44 doubles, ranking tied for eighth in the Majors...became the first Royal in history to post three consecutive 40+ double seasons (2009-2011)...Was extremely productive following the All-Star break, hitting 13 of his 19 home runs and driving in 57, which tied for the third-most RBI in the Majors...his 24 doubles following the break were the fourth-most in MLB...Hit his first career walk-off home run on June 1 vs. the Angels, a 2-run shot to left-center that was reviewed before being confirmed...Saw his franchise-record series hitting streak end at 131 after going 0-for-6 in San Diego from June 27-29...Homered in 4 straight games from July 26-29, blasting 5 over that span...was named Co-A.L. Player of the Week for July 25-31, the third such honor of his career...Posted his fifth and sixth career multi-homer games on July 29 at Cleveland and September 5 at Oakland...Signed to a four-year contract through 2014 on January 22, 2011 with a club option for 2015.

2010

Billy took home the Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year in 2010 after winning the award in 2009 as well...joins George Brett (1975-76 and 1979-80) as the only two players in franchise history to win the award in back-to-back seasons...His .318 average was the highest among Royals players since Mike Sweeney hit .340 in 2002...Set career highs in batting average, hits, walks, on-base pct. and OPS...ranked sixth in the league in average, fourth in multi-hit games (54), tied for third in hits, tied for fourth in doubles and seventh in on-base pct...Carries his club-record 103 consecutive series with a hit into next season... has surpassed Willie Wilson's streak of 96 (1979-81)...is the second-longest active streak in Majors (Nick Markakis-BAL, 139)...Set a club record grounding into 31 double plays, breaking the record of 26 by John Wathan in 1982...Finished sixth in baseball batting .265 (69-for-260) with 2 strikes...Picked up his 500th career hit on July 4 in Anaheim, becoming the youngest active player at the time with 500...Signed to a four-year contract through 2014 on January 22, 2011 with a club option for 2015.

2009

Was named the Royals' Les Milgram Player of the Year...finished second on the Royals single-season list with 51 doubles, trailing Hal McRae's 1977 season when he recorded 54...the double total was second-most in the Majors, 5 shy of the Orioles' Brian Roberts...Ranked 10th in the American League with 299 total bases, tied for sixth with 73 extra-base hits, third in home batting average (.362), tied for 12th with 183 hits and tied for 13th with 52 multi-hit games...his 73 extra-base hits are tied with John Mayberry (1975) and George Brett (1985) for the eighth-most all-time in Royals history...Became just the fifth player in Major League history to have 50 doubles and 20 homers in a season prior to the age of 24...he joins Hank Greenberg (1934), Alex Rodriguez (1996), Albert Pujols (2003) and Miguel Cabrera (2006) as the only "youngsters" to accomplish the feat...Billy is the fi rst Major Leaguer to go 50/20 since the 2007 season when David Ortiz (52/35), Magglio Ordonez (54/28) and Matt Holliday (50/36) each hit those lofty slug numbers...Is the seventh player ever to reach 50 doubles before his 24th birthday...he joined Hank Greenberg (63 in 1934), Alex Rodriguez (54 in 1996), Enos Slaughter (52 in 1939), Stan Musial (51 in 1944), Albert Pujols (51 in 2003) and Miguel Cabrera (50 in 2006)...Cabrera actually shares the same birthdate as Butler, April 18, though the Detroit first baseman is three years older...Finished the season hitting .362 at Kauffman Stadium, the sixth-best home batting average in Royals history...George Brett tops the chart by hitting .391 in 1980...Butler is the first Royals player since 2000 (Johnny Damon, .361) to hit over .350 at home...Billy's 110 hits at Kauffman tied Willie Wilson (1980) for the fifth-most in Royals history...His four 3-double games were two more than any other Royals player in any season...According to Elias, he became the first player in the modern era (since at least 1900) to record four 3-double games in the same season...posted 3-double games on July 8 at Detroit, August 8 vs. Oakland, August 18 at Chicago and September 9 vs. Detroit...Posted double-digit double totals in May, July, August and September, ranking in the top 10 in the Majors in each month...Hit a respectable .290 (93-for-321) with 27 doubles, 8 home runs and 38 RBI in 86 games prior to the All-Star break, but then turned it on to hit .314 (90-for-287) with 24 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 RBI in 73 games following the break...his 55 RBI following the break tied for ninth-most in baseball while his 24 doubles were tied for fourth...Hit 16 of his 21 home runs at Kauffman Stadium...Teamed with Alberto Callaspo (41) to combine for 92 doubles, the most by a Royals duo in club history...bested Hal McRae (46) and Frank White (45) in 1982...Named Royals Player of the Month for May, July and September...his 26 RBI in the month of September led the American League and were tied for second in baseball as he was named A.L. Player of the Month.

2008

Made his fi rst career Opening Day roster...Hit .327 (63-for-194) with 51 RBI with runners in scoring position...Feasted on left-handed pitchers, hitting .340 (49-for-144) with 8 home runs...hit .244 (73-for-299) with 3 home runs against right-handers...his .590 slugging pct. against lefties was the second-best among all A.L. hitters with at least 140 at bats against southpaws while his .340 average was third...Hit .305 (64-for-210) with a team-leading 9 home runs and 36 RBI in 57 games following the All-Star break...hit .249 (58-for-233) with 2 homers and 19 RBI in 67 games prior to the break...Had a career-high 13-game hitting streak to begin the season from March 31-April 14...hit .375 (18-for-48) with 4 doubles...Reached base safely via a hit or walk in his fi rst 21 games of the season (25 H, 8 BB)...Optioned to Omaha on May 29...was recalled from Omaha on June 28...Homered on July 3 in Baltimore, his fi rst long ball since April 14 in Seattle, a span of 43 games and 150 at bats...Homered on July 3 in Baltimore, his fi rst long ball since April 14 in Seattle, a span of 43 games and 150 at bats...Homered in consecutive games for the fi rst time on July 18-19 in Chicago...Hit .475 (19-for-40) with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored during a 10-game streak from August 24-September 4...had 7 multi-hit games during the streak including a pair of 3-hit games...Posted his fi rst career 2-homer game, while driving in 4 runs August 30 in Detroit...Drove in 11 runs over a 5-game span from August 30-September 4...Went through a 1-for-24 slump from September 9-19 before hitting .571 (8-for-14) with a homer in the fi nal week.

2007

Had a spectacular rookie season at the plate for the Royals, hitting .292 (96- for-329) with 23 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers and 52 RBI in 92 games...Hit .292 average is the fi fth-best among Royals rookies with at least 300 at-bats...Hit .340 (33-for-97) against lefties with a .404 OBP and .577 SLG vs. a .272 (63-for-232) average against righties with a .323 OBP and .392 SLG...Drove in 19 of his 52 runs in the fi rst inning...his 23 doubles rank him 10th on the Royals single-season rookie list...Hit .381 (16-for-42) in close and late situations (7th inning or later with the batting team either ahead by one run, tied or with the potential tying run at least on deck)...Opened the season at Omaha (AAA)...had his contract purchased on May 1... became the 12th-youngest player and seventh-youngest position player to make his MLB debut for the Royals at 21 years and 13 days old...Was hitting .337 (30-for-89) for Omaha, ranking at the time of his call up in the PCL top 10 with 18 walks (3rd), 52 total bases (T-4th), 23 RBI (5th), .445 OBP (5th), 19 runs (T-6th), 1.030 OPS (7th), 6 home runs (T-7th) and 30 hits (T-8th)...Made his Major League debut May 1, starting in left field...singled in his fi rst at bat against the Angels' Bartolo Colon for his fi rst Major League hit...later singled to go 2-for-4...Hit .243 (9-for-37) with 4 RBI in 10 games during his fi rst stint with KC...optioned to Omaha on May 16...Made 6 appearances in left field (5 starts) in his fi rst stint with KC...Recalled for his second stint on June 19 and remained with the Royals the rest of the season...Hit .298 (87-for-292) with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs and 48 RBI in 82 games after his second call up...Played 13 games (11 starts) at first base, committing 2 errors in 89 total chances...From June 20 on, led the Royals in hits (87), RBI (48), on-base pct. (.358) and slugging pct. (.466)...Hit his fi rst Major League home run off the Angels' Ervin Santana on June 26 at Los Angeles...Went 3-for-5 on July 3 vs. Seattle, recording a 3-run homer in the 1st and a 3-run double in the 2nd, scoring 4 runs...the 6 RBI were the most by a Royal since Matt Stairs had 6 on July 14, 2005...he was the youngest player to have a 6-RBI game since Alex Rodriguez on May 17, 1996 at Baltimore as a member of the Mariners...Had a spectacular July, hitting .341 (31-for-91) with 3 home runs and 24 RBI in 24 games...was named the July A.L. Rookie of the Month and also the Royals Player of the Month...finished tied for ninth in baseball in RBI for the month...Set a career high with 4 hits on July 20 at Detroit, going 4-for-5 and driving in 4 runs in the Royals 10-2 win...Recorded a career-best 10-game hitting streak from Sept. 12-23, hitting .333 (12-for-36) over that span.

2006

Had a spectacular season at Double-A Wichita as a 20-year-old...won the Texas League batting title with a .331 average...also fi nished tied for 3rd in the league in hits (158), 4th in RBI (96), 7th in on-base pct. (.388) and slugging pct. (.499) and tied for 8th in runs (82)...Selected to the mid-season and postseason Texas League All-Star teams...Was selected as the MVP of the 8th annual XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game in Pittsburgh on July 9...went 2-for-3 with a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning as the USA team beat the World squad, 8-5...Hit .313 while helping Team USA qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Cuba in September...Enters the 2007 season as the Royals 3rd-best prospect according to Baseball America...also named as the Best Hitter for Average in the system...Rated as the number 9 prospect in the entire minor leagues by Sports Illustrated and the number 13 prospect by MiLB.com.